Chapter 269: Hidden Five

The dark red wooden door of the cabin opened.

Within the cabin, an array of patterns emerged, causing the air around them to solidify.

Yin Wu’s tall, robust figure appeared outside the door. He looked to be in his early thirties, with slightly curly long hair and rough yet textured skin. Simply by standing there, he exuded a valiant and towering presence.

“Brother Jiu, we finally meet as members of the Hidden Gate. I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.” Li Weiyi looked at Shi Jiuzhai as he walked in.

Shi Jiuzhai was the first true human Li Weiyi encountered after arriving in this world. At the time, witnessing him breathe clouds and cover dozens of feet in a single stride, it was like seeing a deity.

Now, seeing him again in this manner, a sense of pride swelled within Li Weiyi, as if to say, “We are no ordinary people.”

In the past, he seemed like a deity; today, I am also a deity.

Li Weiyi had long suspected that Shi Jiuzhai might be a member of the Hidden Gate.

First, a year ago, immediately after Li Weiyi and Li Qing infiltrated the Nine Li Hidden Gate, the Nine Li Hidden Gate received intelligence. This was later told to Li Weiyi by Yin Twenty-Four.

Second, after being captured by Shi Jiuzhai and Shi Shishi, Li Weiyi inexplicably managed to escape from the ship.

What truly confirmed Li Weiyi’s suspicions about Shi Jiuzhai was an encounter in the Immortal Realm space of Burial Immortal Town, after Lord Yin met with the Grand Lord of the Earth Wolf Army.

During their conversation, Lord Yin revealed to Li Weiyi that he had once considered using the Immortal Star Art to lure enemies to the ancestral mountain of the Cang Li tribe and wipe them out in one fell swoop. This would involve sacrificing the Cang Li tribe for the peace of the Nine Li tribe.

If Lord Yin wanted to achieve this, then Shi Jiuzhai must have been his subordinate.

Later, obtaining the roster of Hidden people confirmed this.

“Greetings, Divine Hidden One!”

Shi Jiuzhai cupped his fist and bowed, then sat next to Yin Er. He sighed with emotion, “Fate truly is marvelous! Over a year ago, when we met on the mountain in Burial Immortal Town, you and your companion were as destitute as two wolf cubs. Who would have thought that in such a short time, tonight we would be sitting here together, admiring the night view of the great river on both banks? And you’ve even become our leader!”

“At that time, I received orders from the Heavenly King to lead a team of lower-cultivation wolf soldiers, with no renowned figures among them. We were to pretend to be Buddhist thieves, raid Lizhou, seize the Otherworldly Coffin, and stir up conflict between the Nine Li tribe and Coffin Mountain.”

“I first met with Lord Yin to discuss countermeasures. That’s why I separated from the army and arrived a day later than them in Burial Immortal Town... Heh heh, being a day late unexpectedly led to such a profound connection.”

Li Weiyi smiled, “Thinking about it now, the fact that Li Ling and I managed to escape with our lives was entirely because you deliberately let us off the hook.”

Shi Jiuzhai sighed, “Having infiltrated the Earth Wolf Army for fifteen years, many things were beyond my control. Even a slight flaw could lead to a fate worse than death. Sometimes, compromises and sacrifices had to be made.”

“At that time, openly, it was the Buddhist thieves disguised by the Earth Wolf Army who acted, and the Dragon Court was testing the Cang Li. In reality, the Suizong sect had two other masters lying in wait, prepared to kill Li Songlin and Cang Li together in Burial Immortal Town, escalating the conflict to the point of war.”

“The reason you and Zhao Zhizhuo were able to escape to Yao Pass for help was due to the secret assistance of the Hidden Gate elders, which made it so smooth.”

“The Hidden Gate could not openly reveal itself at that time.”

Li Weiyi then recalled his chance encounter with Yang Qingxi and Yang Yun on a boat on the Huai River. At that time, Yang Yun was quite unrestrained with his words, revealing the secret that he and his sister were in Yao Pass.

It was clear that the Suizong sect must have been involved in this matter.

Li Weiyi then got to the point, “What happened to Qi Xiao? A Dao Seed Realm martial cultivator, a human overlord, how could he disappear without a trace?”

Those who could cultivate to the Dao Seed Realm were all exceptionally talented individuals.

Yin Er claimed his talent was average, but that was only among the Hidden people. A Dao Seed Realm Second Heaven cultivator in his forties was absolutely one in a hundred thousand, or even one in a million, among all martial cultivators.

Among the sixty Hidden people in one sixty-year cycle, over ninety percent had no chance of achieving longevity.

Initially, everyone believed Qi Xiao’s disappearance meant he had gone to the underground immortal mansion.

The Qi family was the first to sense that something was wrong.

After multiple investigations, they discovered that before his disappearance, Qi Xiao had sent people to look for Yang Qingxi.

But by then, Yang Qingxi and the Dongzong sect members had already left Qiuzhou City, causing the investigation to reach a dead end.

The world was vast, and dangers lurked everywhere. In this world, countless people went missing every day; finding someone was extremely difficult, and leaving no trace of their remains was the norm.

During that period, Li Weiyi had to feign severe injury and incapacitation. By the time he learned of the matter, three months had passed. He naturally felt guilty, worrying that Qi Xiao’s misfortune was indeed due to the matter involving Yang Qingxi.

Shi Jiuzhai said, “For the past three months, I’ve investigated both directions: the underground immortal mansion and Yang Qingxi!”

“First, I checked the city gate entry and exit records. There was no record of Qi Xiao leaving the city in the days leading up to his disappearance.”

“That leaves only two possibilities: first, he encountered a top-tier expert and was silently subdued or killed, with his body then destroyed to eliminate any traces.”

“Second, he used some method to bypass the city gate guards.”

“Therefore, the possibility of him going to the underground immortal mansion can largely be ruled out.”

“Assuming the first scenario, based on the information held by the Hidden Gate and the investigations by the Qi family and the Zuoqiu household, there were only three such powerful cultivators in Qiuzhou City at that time, including Yao Qian.”

“The Qi family investigated this direction, but it was difficult to find any conclusive results.”

“I focused on the second scenario! Under what circumstances would Qi Xiao intentionally avoid registering with the city gate guards?”

Li Weiyi mused, “Unless it wasn’t the city gate guards he was trying to avoid.”

Shi Jiuzhai nodded, “He was tracking someone!”

“Tracking whom?” Li Weiyi asked.

Shi Jiuzhai replied, “Someone with cultivation too high, he wouldn’t dare track. Someone with cultivation too low, there would be no point in tracking them.”

“Yang Qingxi?” Li Weiyi suggested.

Shi Jiuzhai said, “Very likely! I followed this conjecture and continued my investigation, and indeed, I found something.”

“First, I checked Yang Qingxi’s entry and exit records at the city gates during that period, but there were no results. So, I changed my approach and copied all records of vehicles and horses leaving the city on the day Qi Xiao left the Qi residence, spending a lot of time sifting through and eliminating possibilities.”

“Ultimately, Qingyun Carriage House, with its Suizong sect background, became my primary target of investigation. The owner of Qingyun Carriage House originated from the Suizong sect, a secret known only to the Nine Li tribe.”

“The Suizong sect understands the Nine Li tribe very well, and the Nine Li tribe also understands them.”

“At Qingyun Carriage House, every coachman and every beast-drawn carriage or horse-drawn carriage was registered, including departure and return times. I quietly took out this ledger of carriage movements and copied it. And then I found a trace!”

“Wang Zhi entered Qingyun Carriage House two months before the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, carrying a letter of introduction from Yang Qingxi.”

“On the day Qi Xiao disappeared, he also vanished! The city guards had a record that he drove out of the city that evening and never returned.”

“Where is Yang Qingxi?” Li Weiyi’s eyes were terrifyingly cold.

Reaching this point in the investigation, it was almost certain that she was involved.

Although Li Weiyi had planted a Six Desires Talisman on her, he was not currently a Spirit Practitioner nor in the Dao Seed Realm, so he couldn’t sense her location through the talisman.

Moreover, half a year had passed!

Yang Qingxi had not sought him out, indicating that the threat of the Six Desires Talisman had been lifted by other means.

The fact that they agreed so readily back then clearly meant they had prepared escape routes.

Yin Er said, “I checked, but couldn’t find her. Even our people infiltrated within the Suizong sect can’t find a trace of her. She’s likely in seclusion, attempting to break through to the Dao Seed Realm.”

Shi Jiuzhai said, “The lead on Wang Zhi is not broken.”

“Oh?” Li Weiyi was surprised.

Shi Jiuzhai smiled slightly, “A chess piece Yang Qingxi placed in advance wouldn’t have been used only during the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival. Wang Zhi’s disappearance was likely just to lie low, fearing that Qi Xiao might have already sent word back to the Qi residence while tracking them.”

“Half a year has passed, and he most likely believes he’s safe now. The Qi family never traced anything to Qingyun Carriage House, and when I investigated, I was extremely careful and didn’t alert anyone.”

“Ten days ago, the person I planted inside the carriage house reported back. Wang Zhi had actually returned to Qingyun Carriage House, and what’s more, he transformed himself into the adopted son of the carriage house owner, Wang Shouxin.”

Li Weiyi had calmed down. He picked up his wine cup and drank his sixth cup. “Someone who had already left suddenly returns. What could be their purpose?”

“Is the Divine Hidden One preparing to act?” Shi Jiuzhai could feel Li Weiyi’s concern for Qi Xiao and his chilling intent towards their enemies.

Li Weiyi said, “Let’s apprehend him first, to avoid any further complications. Brother Jiu, will you come with me?”

Shi Jiuzhai hesitated, as if to speak, then finally nodded.

“Brother Er, the Midnight Sun Dew, the Hidden Gate should have some, right? Get me a hundred drops.” Li Weiyi stood up, unwilling to wait a moment longer.

“Pfft!”

Yin Er spat out a mouthful of wine and exclaimed, “A hundred drops?! The Midnight Sun Dew is a supreme treasure born from the Land of Endless Day, like liquid light. A single drop can refine a hundred Flame-Light Pills.”

“For Midnight Sun Dew, even the Nine Li Divine Temple has to purchase it from Qianli Mountain, with a single drop costing anywhere from thirty thousand to forty thousand Spring Coins.”

“The most I can get you is ten drops. As per old rules, you pay half, and the Hidden Gate pays half.”

Li Weiyi frowned, not expecting the Midnight Sun Dew to be so precious.

Indeed, all shortcuts in this world were paved with money.

Fortunately, Yang Qingxi owed him five million Spring Coins; he had to get that money back.

To quickly become a Spirit Practitioner, he had to invest heavily. Li Weiyi said, “Thirty drops then, no less. I’ll gather five hundred thousand Spring Coins for you as soon as possible. If that’s still not enough, go to the patriarch of the Cang Li tribe and tell him it’s for his daughter’s cultivation expenses.”

“Also, please check the Hidden Gate treasury for fragments of the Spirit Platform Blazing Star Stone. If there aren’t any, then acquire them publicly in my name. The price is negotiable.”

Yin Er’s gaze darkened. “Does the Divine Hidden One really have no other path but to become a Practitioner?”

“A Practitioner who cultivates to the level of the Confucian Dao Ancestor of the Zuoqiu household can still summon wind and rain, and live freely in the world.” Li Weiyi said calmly.

Li Weiyi and Shi Jiuzhai drove towards Qingyun Carriage House.

Shi Jiuzhai observed Li Weiyi’s eyes and demeanor, then smiled. “Seeing your fighting spirit rekindled makes me feel much better! Back then, if my cultivation had been one more Heaven higher, I should have been able to take that sword strike for you.”

At that time, even facing a potential Longevity Realm giant, Shi Jiuzhai and Shi Liuyu had intervened without hesitation to rescue him. Regardless of their character or whether the rescue succeeded, Li Weiyi deeply appreciated their willingness to face extreme danger.

Thus, when Shi Jiuzhai now said he wished he could have taken that sword strike for Li Weiyi...

Li Weiyi believed him!

“What realm are you in, Brother Jiu?” Li Weiyi suddenly asked.

Shi Jiuzhai replied, “Dao Seed Realm Sixth Heaven.”

Li Weiyi was secretly shocked. No wonder Yin Eleven had said that among their sixty-year cycle of Hidden people, Yin Nine was first in terms of foundation, but Yin One and Yin Five were the fastest in cultivation speed.

A Dao Seed Realm Sixth Heaven cultivator in his thirties, his cultivation speed was probably even faster than Zuoqiu Cangwu at the same age.

This was a seed for a Longevity Realm giant!

Longevity Realm giants were exceedingly rare in the world.

For example, Coffin Mountain, one of the top three major powers in the Southern Region, only had two Longevity Realm giants. Perhaps there were hidden ones with less renown, but they would be difficult to conceal, and one or two more would be the absolute maximum!

Even a great sect like Dongzong only had three individuals who were Longevity Realm giants or Saint Spirit Practitioners combined. The top masters of most of the seven major families within the sect were at the Dao Seed Realm level.

Only the Hidden Gate, a major power comparable to the top thousand sects, with its complete talent selection system, resource reserves, and thousands of years of foundation, could secretly cultivate a large number of masters.

Even so, among the Nine Li tribe, an ancient clan of ten million, not every patriarch of the nine great tribes or every one of the nine priests of the Nine Li Divine Temple was a Longevity Realm giant or a Saint Spirit Practitioner.

Many of them were still at the Dao Seed Realm or Spirit Practitioner level.

The twenty Longevity Pills lost during the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival would inevitably change the world’s power structure, allowing many old cultivators previously stuck in the Dao Seed Realm to secretly achieve the Longevity Realm.

Shi Jiuzhai said, “Every three Heavens in the Dao Seed Realm marks a major transformation. The Fourth Heaven involves condensing a Dao Lotus, and the Seventh Heaven involves condensing a Dao Fruit. If I can condense a Dao Fruit, my strength will undergo earth-shattering changes. But this step is incredibly difficult; it’s possible I might cultivate for another ten or twenty years and still not succeed.”

“I truly envy your generation, being able to contend for the Dragon Seed...”

At this point, Shi Jiuzhai stopped speaking, realizing he had touched on Li Weiyi’s pain. He let out a laugh and said, “I’m very curious if you and Yang Qingxi actually slept together.”

“What’s wrong?” Li Weiyi asked with a smile.

Shi Jiuzhai said, “Yang Qingxi is a woman who can stir any man’s desire for conquest. If you’ve touched her, I’ll naturally abandon any thoughts of conquering her. Should I encounter her in the future, I’ll either kill her directly or let her go.”

Li Weiyi hesitated, considering how to answer.

“Haha, I understand!” Shi Jiuzhai laughed.